The Baseball Gods Hate Me.

Soaked in the rain for hours after the weatherman, 

actually, multiple weathermen promised it would stop raining, the Red Sox went on to win last nights game I went to at Fenway Park. 

But that's not what's important right now. 

The Giants have refreshed their line up. Obviously bringing in Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets as well as Orlando Cabrera to take over at short stop. Keppinger also came as part of the trade. Beltran and Cabrera are both expected to put some pop in our line up. 

change the pattern of low scoring games. 

The Giants, who took today's game against Arizona hang on to first place in the National League West division by one game. 

At this crucial time, the Phillies are coming back to town. 

The Phillies series are often tough because the game could go either way. 

Though the Phillies have their monster pitching rotation, the Giants took the series the last time they were in town and are hoping to do the same again. 

I miss my boys of summer back at home. 

But while I'm here in Boston, there's always the Red Sox...

but i can't say I don't miss my city by the bay.  

Welcome Beltran & I'm Back FOR GOOD.

       I completely forgot that the first half of summer and the end of the school year is just crazy and bizarre and finding time to write is nearly impossible. Anyway, though it is past the middle of the season, I'm still going to write, and I am back -- for good. 

Obviously, a lot has happened since I went MIA. For instance, there has been a good number of videos posted online showing children looking incredibly distressed after they are robbed of a foul ball souvenir by some older mister sitting in the row in front of him. Others show compassionate fans giving their own souvenirs away to smaller children. 

But that's not really what I'm trying to get at. While I was battling my way through thick forests and jungles and the awful Boston drivers, the Giants pulled ahead in their division and now lead the unexpected contender, the Arizona Diamond backs by four games. 

In the AL East, The Red Sox are just barely leading the Yankees. The Red Sox are having a stellar season so far. The offense for the most part is on. While Carl Crawford spent some time on the DL, he is expected to come back. He hasn't produced very much to benefit the Red Sox, and I hope to see more of what he can do, since we paid SO MUCH MONEY for him. 

Adrian Gonzalez on the other hand is living up to and beyond expectations. While Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 24 games last night, Adrian Gonzalez, who is without a hitting streak, has been solid and consistent and proved to be an excellent power hitter. The first basement has proven himself at both first base, and at the plate, as well as in the dug out, serving as a leader for the rest of the team. 

Josh Beckett has rebounded from a tough season last year which was plagued with numerous injuries. Injuries still seem to be an issue for the Sox. Dice-K was put on the long term DL early this season after getting surgery in his elbow and was out for the rest of the season. Clay Buchholz, while recovering slowly, is still struggling to come back into the rotation. Jon Lester went onto the DL before making his return last week. 

It seems that despite not having their starting rotation from the beginning of the season, the team seems to be doing alright, mostly thanks to sufficient run support. 

With the injuries to the starting rotation, Tim Wakefield has gotten his chance to start just like he did last year for the injured Josh Beckett. Wakefield is currently going for his 200th win with the Red Sox, which presumably will set some sort of Red Sox record. 

After intense negotiation and a crazy number of rumors circulating around, Carlos Beltran finally negotiated a deal with the Giants, and came over Wednesday to play his first game in Giants uniform against the Cincinnati Reds. Beltran says he was looking to play for a contender, and the Giants, leading the NL West division is certainly a contender. The Giants were looking to put a little more "pop" in the line up, which is very important since our line-up has kind of decided that they don't really wanna hit very much and high scoring games are boring. 

It might be a good thing to have low scoring games and just pitching duels because that way it'll scare away all the rich season ticket holders and ticket prices will go back down to a more affordable price. 

 The Reds came to town right after the Giants took the series (two out of three games) from the Phillies. When the Phillies came into town, the Giants had something to prove, that they can out pitch the best rotation in the majors, and they did not win the NLCS out of luck. 

Thankfully for us, the baseball gods were on our side, and we genuinely played well enough to deserve the series. 

The one thing I've loved about the Giants this season is their ability to put up a fight. Last year, if we were losing in the bottom of the 7th at home, we were bound to lose the game. This year, the Giants have decided to put up a fight up until the very last minute. The battle lasts into extra-innings and we have generated more walk-off wins than any other Giants season I can remember. 

On a sadder note, rookie catcher Buster Posey was side-lined for the rest of the season when he fractured his leg during a collision at home plate with Scott Cousins of the Florida Marlins during an extra inning game. The Marlins won on Cousins safe slide home where he knocked the ball out of Posey's glove on what appeared to be a groundout. Posey was on the ground, cringing in pain, and was not able to stand up. There were debates on whether or not to change the policy so that catchers were not vulnerable to such injuries, but it was ultimately decided that it was part of the game, and catchers, and all other position players put themselves in a position to potentially get hurt just by playing the sport. 

The worst part is that Posey is in his prime right now; he should be out there playing his best, but instead he is benched until next season. The Giants made Eli Whiteside their main catcher, but also called up Chris Stewart from the minors to be back up catcher. Since the Giants are in first, despite the lack of hitting, the lack of runs scoring, and our injured star catcher...I can't complain too much. 

Return to AT&T Park

Its good to be home again. Walking into the ballpark again, the lights, the sounds, the people, the smells, being squished in the BART and even more squished in the MUNI...having your feet stepped on, having to pee like crazy and waiting in a Giant line of fellow fans dressed in black and orange...and hearing, up close and personal, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I'm finally getting back into the swing of things -- and holy crap there's a lot to talk about. Since their return home, the Giants have won both of their home series against the Cardinals and the rival Dodgers. Both of the games we won during the Cardinals series happened to be late in the game ... meaning in the bottom of the 9th or in extra innings.

In game one of the Cardinal series, Aaron Rowand was the hero. He's been hitting well recently, which will prompt more questions when Andres Torres (not on the 15-day disabled list, a strained Achilles tendon) and Cody Ross (whos' likely to return later this month) return to the line-up, where will Rowand go since he's obviously hot right now. Those are questions to be answered a little later on. Anyway, before Rowand got to be a hero again (again because he was the home opener hero last season too) Pablo Sandoval had to tie the game up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Thankfully, the lighter Panda managed to come through for us, and the game went into extra innings.

In the bottom of the 12th, Rowand got his chance. The Cardinals' relief pitcher loaded the bases by intentionally walking Freddy Sanchez. Rowand smashes a double into the outfield, hitting the wall before falling into anyone's glove and we win 3-2 Giants.

In game two of the series, we were in a similar situation. After the euphoric flag raising ceremony involving our favorite black bearded closer, Brian Wilson, the same black-bearded-ninja-raging-sugar-giving-closer blew his first save of the season. It's important to note that he was recovering from oblique problems. Anyway, after blowing the lead, we were trailing the Cardinals by 1 run in the bottom of the 9th. Instead of Rowand being the hero, Tejada decided to earn the adoration of Giants fans by smashing his own game winning double into the outfield to take home game 2 of the Cardinals series.

After the Cardinals flew out of town, the Dodgers came in. After a few of their dumb fans who were likely just looking for a "good" excuse to throw a punch beat up an Innocent Giants fan, emotions were running high. Security was tighter than usual and there were plenty of news articles urging Giants fans to have some pride and not retaliate.

The Giants lost the first game of the series, but won the second and third. My boyfriend and I went to the second game. It was his first professional ball game ever, and he had to be initiated into the fandom. The game got off to a slow start and the Dodgers took to the lead from Tim Lincecum early on in the game. Timmy was having a little trouble with his command of the strike-zone, but we'll see what happens -- his velocity is back though. It was a back and forth game; the Dodgers taking the lead and the Giants tying it up and the Dodgers taking the lead again. The Giants finally pulled ahead late in the game after Rowand tripled, and came home on a wild pitch. The final score was 5-4.

Last night's game was won on two home runs.  Aaron Rowand lead of the game with a double and inched his way home on fielder's choices and a sacrifice fly by Huff. The guy may look like seaweed  in the water when he's batting or like he's drunk until the ball starts flying his way, but hey, if he's hitting, who cares. Pablo Sandoval homered (batting right, his first in a while) and with two outs, Mike Fontenot also sends a solo shot into the stands. Fontenot was a last minute replacement for DeRosa who was a last minute replacement for Freddy Sanchez. I guess you gotta use the chances you have to play to play well, especially if you're fighting for a potential starting spot in the line up.

 3There have been possibilities that Belt and Huff will trade positions. Belt, who has only seen playing time at first base as a GIANT, could be moving to right field and Huff returning to his comfortable first base position. This leaves two empty spots in the outfield...and many potential outfielders.

Speaking of fighting for spots in the line up, even though we managed to get rid of some of our outfielders, it still seems like a crowded outfield to me. We have, Cody Ross, Andres Torres, Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff (future maybe Brandon Belt) Mark DeRosa and Nate Scheirholtz...they're all fighting for playing time. Mark DeRosa hasn't seen very much playing time except for as a pinch hitter, but that could change, he's a good player, and it was disappointing when he fell of the grid last season after so much anticipation because of his wrist. That was back when Todd Wellemeyer was still starting...where is that guy? At that time, Aaron Rowand was also our lead-off man. Anyway, how are they all going to get playing time?

Rowand has been hitting triples and doubles, and RBIs all over the place just trying to keep his spot in the line-up. Andres Torres was our centerfielder most of last season and we know for a fact that he plays well...plus he can run. Belt can also run, and play the outfield; if not, Aubrey Huff will keep his spot most likely and play in the outfield. Nate Scheirholtz went 3-3 in a recent game, proving that he too can contribute to the team in one way or another. The return of Cody Ross will take away a spot in the outfield. The outfield is currently manned by Burrell, Huff, and Rowand. Cody Ross will almost absolutely reclaim his spot as soon as he's feeling better, moving Burrell out of the line up. If Rowand continues to hit well, we'll move Huff back to first and sit Belt for a little while, and put Torres back in center.

Of course, there's a million, bazillion options here, and all the guys wanna see playing time...

My homecoming to AT&T Park was completed by how oblivious my boyfriend was to the whole thing. It finally feels like the season's started and summer's just around the corner.

I can breathe a little easier knowing that

the boys of summer are finally back.  

Raising the Flag

You would think that the euphoria here in San Francisco ended long ago, but that's unbelievably wrong. The excitement and energy has carried over from November of 2010 to the 2011 home opener at AT&T park, San Francisco. The city has been waiting patiently for the return of their beloved, championship team. Tickets for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday home opener, a series set to be against the St. Louis cardinals is sold out. The park that has been dormant since november will come alive again as the giants come home.

Here in the windy, foggy streets of San Francisco, there's been a lot of pressure to repeat, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since the 2000 Yankees. The San Francisco giants are new to this whole champions ordeal. Across the bay, the Oakland athletics repeated way back before I was even born.

San Francisco didn't get off to a great start, seeing as we nearly got swept by the dodgers ad the padres. Then again, when have the giants ever been consistent? I think the team is still trying to find their "fight." and it'll come, in time it'll come.

The giants have added rookie Brandon belt to their roster. Belt is taking over at first base, moving veteran Aubrey huff to right field.So far, belt has hit an impressive homer over the dodgers' centerfield wall. For now, pat Burrell is playing in left, but with the return of Cody Ross, things could change a lot. Clothes are the options. 1). pat burial leaves, someone is given up, rowand or burrell or maybe schierholtz. 2). Brandon belt spends some more time In triple aaa Fresno, moving huff back to first & keeping Burrell in left. Thy decision will depend on how belt plays in the time Cody needs to recover. Things will work themselves out; when the time comes to make the changes, well see how things have played out & make the changes accordingly.

Aubrey huff struggled a little bit his first several games, but lucky for us, he began producing again yesterday. He's still breaking in right field, but he's a team
Player and would be happy to contribute anyway he can. Brandon belt has brought with him an air of patience. The kid, unlike many rookies, knows how to wait for the right pitch. He has a really good eye, and rarely looks frantic at the plate. For a rookie, he's calm and tames each of his swings.

Tomorrow begins a new chapter for the treen. They get to come home to screaming fans who are craving more wins, and perhaps, dare I say it, maybe even another title. Spring is starting to look a little tiny but like summer, and that means baseball is officially back here in the city. the giants will take the field tomorrow as world series champions.

2011 is just another season. Were gonna take this one game at a time and see where that takes us. hopefully, it'll take us far & maybe, just maybe, well get to relive 2010 again.

Either way, its gonna be a good season of ball, I can feel it. I mean, it's baseball, anything cam happen.

Remember Me?

Ah, the sound of the keyboard clicking, and the cursor actually moving on the screen and not just aimlessly blinking on a blank Microsoft word page.

 

It's certainly been awhile.

Truth is, I've been a little preoccupied since the end of baseball season, and I can't bear to write about the 49ers (where's a Christmas miracle when I need one?) I'm still reinforcing all my hockey knowledge, but until then, I'm really not knowledgeable enough to write about the Sharks or the Bruins.

 

But I can talk about the trades...and transactions that have happened.

 

FIRST:

 

Miguel Tejada. Miggi. The new Giants' shortstop. Taking over between second and third, he's 36 years old and coming to us from the San Diego Padres. It seems to be as if he might be declining, but still a good defensive and offensive addition to the team. I still think all in all the Giants really need some "POP" in their line up. There are days where we can really get the energy flowing throughout the whole line up...and other days when we...well...can't.

 

We'll definitely see what he can bring to the team.

Anyway, San Francisco is a very welcoming city.

So, Welcome.

 

We're still waiting on Edgar Renteria and whether or not he'll accept the offer the Giants have placed for him after Giants management turned down what him and his agent wanted.

Jayson Werth was a pipe dream.
I thought a new outfielder would be nice, in addition to Cody Ross and Andres Torres out there, but instead he signed with the Nationals for 7 years for 126 million dollars.
Kiss goodbye to those rings, Werth.

My friend and I (mostly him, I'm still warming up to the idea) had this idea that we could bring up Brandon Belt from the minors. Belt, a first baseman, could certainly bring some pop to the line up. Batting at .352 this year, he could definitely bring something to the team. 22/30 stolen bases, 23 home runs and 112 RBI's...not bad. Since Belt is a first baseman, and Aubrey Huff is our current first baseman, we could do a switch-a-roo, since Huff plays in the outfield.

We could send Aubrey Huff to right field, have Cody play in left, and put Belt at first.
I'd like to see that tried out.
We'll see.

SECOND:

Boston Red Sox walked out of winter meetings WINNERS.
Despite having to break out the wallet, the Red Sox walked away with former Ray, Carl Crawford who will join the outfield with Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew. It's likely that he'll be batting third behind Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. As long as the Sox stay healthy, it's hard to say they need much more "POP" in their line up, but anything helps to push the team along into the postseason.

Adrian Gonzalez also joined the Red Sox, taking over at first base and moving Kevin Youkilis to third. Adrian Gonzalez is a former Padre.

The goal for the 2011 season is to strengthen the Red Sox bullpen. The starters also need to STAY HEALTHY (along with the rest of the team) as well as be more CONSISTENT.
Inconsistency is fun...to an extent.

With VMart off in Detroit, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek (who's usually back up) will take over behind the plate. They both hit well, and catch well, though Varitek (who's been with the Sox since 1997) will likely see more starts than Saltalamacchia -- although it depends on what we see from Salty as the early season progresses.

THIRD:

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hammels?
Is it legal in MLB to have such a solid pitching rotation?

The Phillies are going to be the team to beat next year. Their line up consists of good hitters...and now with Cliff Lee rejoining their pitching rotation they're going to be a solid team.
It's gonna be a tough year.
The Phillies want to come back strong.

FOURTH:

Yankees lost Carl Crawford and Cliff Lee.
'Nuff said.

They did resign Jeter though.
I was thankful he wasn't coming to San Francisco.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to when the boys have report to their respective clubs.
No sweat.
Spring is right around the corner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Endings.

While a majority of the country has settled into the offseason, today was the first day it really hit me; this is it.

We came all this way, won the World Series...

and NOW WHAT?

Don't get me wrong, the parade was super fun.

It finally settled in that we had really won the world series and I wasn't dreaming or anything.

The parade was really crowded.

Seriously.

It was just a sea of orange and black taking over the city of San Francisco.

Mr. Mayor.

B-Weezy.

Ramirez.

Freddy.

Zito. (Highs and Lows, <3)

This one's my fave.

But I'm biased.

Jonathan Sanchez.

Javi.

Cody Ross.

Willie Mays.

Hoist that trophy, Bochy.

AMEN TO THAT.

Quite honestly I was looking for more of an intresting series between two of the "underdog" teams so to speak. The Rangers had never been to the series, and as the SAN FRANCISCO Giants, we'd never won the series. We choked 3 different times. In 2002 we fell short against the Angels. In 1989, the year of the earthquake, we were swept by the Oakland A's, who brought the parade home across the crumbled bridge. I'm happy we won it all, but I wish it was more of a fight.

Texas took one game, so it wasn't entirely a sweep, but we never got to see their ace, Cliff Lee live up to his reputation. His dominance was virtually nowhere to be found. The Rangers' bats had nothing to say. Not Molina, not Hamilton. Texas sort of...rolled over and died.

--

I'm now cruising through the "now what" phase.

5 months or so until the first pitch is thrown for spring training.

104 days until players report to their respective clubs.

104 days of nothing but cold, foggy, San Francisco weather, November politics, and

even with the holidays soon approaching, it's still not the same.

The last part of summer that we were clinging on to is now gone.

(I guess they call it the "fall classic")

Time to get back to reality.

Reality Sucks.

Let's make it better...

Best part about baseball though,

It's always back the next summer.

It's about to be a looonngg winter. 

 At least I get to ask Santa for a very special present...

GIANTS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!

First thing's first.

Listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Bq1DpffjE&feature=share

That song sums it up.

"Frisco Swag."

FUCKYES.

WE'RE THE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!!

screaming and crying and cheering and shouting...

annnnd skipping school wednesday for a parade.

let's break this down in large print.

(1). Tim Lincecum breaking it down for us today.

Madison Bumgarner, 8-inning shut out yesterday.

no words.

(2). Edgar Renteria.

like always (credit to cody for starting a rally, and uribe for getting the idea)

but RENTERIA. WORLD SERIES MVP!!!!

HOMMMMEE RUNNN!!!!!!!!!!

Wasn't easy.

Wasn't always all smiles.

WASN'T WITHOUT THE TORTURE.

for the first time,

the SAN FRANCISCO Giants are the world champions and the parade, the party, the pride is coming home to SAN FRANCISCO.

HOME.

city by the bay.

We won against the stupid professional odds.

we beat out the Phillies.

and we finished Texas in front of their crowd.

it's SO UNREAL

The Giants are coming home World Champions.

They, We made history.

ain't no one gonna forget it.

"WORLD" SERIES. VERY BRIEFLY GAMES 1&2

We've made it this far.

We beat out the Padres, the Braves, and then the Phillies and never looked back.

Talk about high scoring games!

Together, in world series games 1 &2, the Giants have managed to score a total of 21 Runs against the Texas Rangers -- in a world series game.

It hadn't really sunk in until Wednesday night when Freddy Sanchez was busy smacking doubles all over the field.

Then Uribe blasted one out into the bleacher seats, and then it really set in.

"Oh man, we're in the world series..."

O'Day came in as relief, and Uribe just squared up and swung. The guy's E.R.A was infinity, 1-run over 0 innings pitched.

Game 1 was expected to be a pitchers duel. A low-scoring square off between ace Tim Linecum and the Rangers' star pitcher, Cliff Lee. It didn't start out a pitchers duel. The Giants actually had to come from behind because Lincecum didn't have his command early on, giving the Rangers an early 2-0 lead at AT&T Park in the 1st inning. Since it was early, no one was panicking. The Giants aren't huge on offense, but I guess they were really excited.

Game 2 was a 9 run shut out of our Texan opponents. With CJ Wilson on the mound with his electric blue glove, the Giants produced the in the 5th, putting themselves 1-run ahead. The much indicated pitching duel of game 1 came during game 2, Matt Cain pitching a MASTERPIECE, still hanging on to that E.R.A of 0.00.

Edgar Renteria proved to be helpful and productive in games 1&2, offensively and defensively, not missing a beat. Renteria played short, moving Uribe over to third, putting Pablo Sandoval on the bench. I reckon (I really just said that out loud, it's all this Texan stuff) that he'll be at short in Texas as well.

Edgar Renteria, the world series rally starter, hit a home run into right field off of Wilson in the 5th to put the Giants ahead by 1. We also decided to rack up some insurance runs along the way. At one point, it was 2-insurance runs. As usual, it was Cody Ross who broke up Texas' no-hit game early on with a double. Cody came home twice, and walked twice, in addition to his double. Monday night, he earned an RBI during the 5th inning rally. Aubrey Huff has also been producing, especially when we need him most. It seems that he can hit balls through the holes, and like Cody manages to find the grass, if not the bleachers.

Matt Cain left the game to a standing ovation after getting himself into a slight situation. Slight. Javier Lopez came in and as usual took care of business by finishing Hamilton on two pitches, putting away the main threat.

After an exciting 6-run rally in the 5th in Game 1 of the World Series, the Giants decided to pull together a 7-run rally in the 8th -- with 2-outs. It was bottom of the 8th, with 2-outs forever. We scored all 7 of those runs with 2-outs. Texas played with their bullpen after their pitchers issued a number of walks. We scored on a number of walks, and loaded the bases on walks. With two outs, we swept through our line up once. The Ranger bullpen was rarely ahead in the count. Renteria singled, Rowand tripled and Torres doubled clearing the bases, and putting us ahead of Texas by 9-runs.

Texas I guess wasn't having fun and just wanted it to be over. We called to our bullpen, and the Texans went quietly as the park erupted in cheers.

Over the last 3 games, our pitchers, Sanchez, Lincecum AND Cain have been able to get on base. Sanchez and Cain both singled, and Linecum got on via an error. Point being, it's kind of rare...Madison Bumgarner can handle the bat well, so we'll hope that when he gets his chance to pitch, he can get on base as well.

It's been quite the week.

Spirit week at school, and the World Series...and Halloween coming up just as the Giants head to Arlington in Texas.

we're here in the world series (it's settled in -- I got my Cody Ross jersey today with the World Series patch on it) and we're fucking loving every bit of it

Texas might have cowboys, but

 we're equipped with a team of misfits (one of whom is a rodeo clown),

Don't mess with Texas? PUH-LEASE.

Y'ALL AIN'T GOT NUTHIN ON US.

GIANTS TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!

I didn't sit down once during the entire 3 hours plus duration of the NLCS Game 6.

I paced in the living room, walked up and down the stairs outside a couple times to get air and did some jumping jacks and stretches.

Not for a moment did I breathe in that game.

Swear.

From the first inning where the Phillies scored on us twice, and to the very last of the 9th when Brian Wilson struck Howard out looking with two men on.

Here's how it broke down

With 3-outs to go:

Ross Gload to pinch hit.

easy out, Huff with the put out.

With 2-outs to go:

Jimmy Rollins takes a walk.

Still with 2-outs to go:

Polanco to first on a fielders' choice.

Rollins out at second.

With 1-out to go:

Chase Utley takes a walk.

STILL with 1-out to go:

In 7 pitches, Brian Wilson strikes out Howard looking.

The moment we took the NLCS:

Ran outside, screamed with my neighbor: "WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!"

and jumped into his arms.

Best moment ever.

With that said, let's talk about evvverrything we had to do to lead up to the best moment ever.

From the moment the game started, there was crazy tension and emotions were running high as ever. In the third, Chase Utley was hit by a pitch square in the back by starter Jonathan Sanchez (who went two batters into the 3rd inning). Intentional? Absolutely not. Did Utley think so? Highly doubt it. 

Utley, will jogging over to first reached down and picked up the ball that had bounced off his back, and tossed it lightly to Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez, I guess, didn't appreciate that, and had some words to say to Chase Utley over at first. Utley turned around, and said something along the lines of (I suck at reading lips), "WHAT?" before waving him off. The dugouts cleared, Huff played peace-maker, and no one was ejected. Pitchers were warned, and Game 6 continued on. 

Bochy voluntarily pulled Sanchez out, in fear that he would become more wild than he already is. It was only the 3rd inning, and the score was tied. 

The rally we had scored on was sparked by Jonathan Sanchez's bat. Sanchez singled, and Torres hit a lllooonnngg single due to some base-running confusion from Sanchez who held up at second. Freddy was able to lay down a perfect bunt, and we turned to Aubrey Huff. Huff "effortlessly" singled, scoring Sanchez easily. Torres was out at the plate after colliding with Carlos Ruiz. He was clearly out.

Aubrey Huff took that time to run to second base, putting himself into scoring position for Buster Posey. Posey hit a ball slowly into the infield, and Howard errored allowing Huff to score.

Without a starter, Bochy turned to our bullpen, first summoning up Jermey Affedlt. Our bullpen, despite their recent inconsistancy was AMAZING.

Affedlt pitched 2 shut out innings. Two-innings not breathing.

We then brought in game 4 starter, Madison Bumgarner...whom my friend and I have started calling, "Mads," because his name is too long to say.

Sorry, dude.

Mads came in, and got himself into some situations...some bases loaded, some threats...aaannnd got us out of those situations just as quickly.

When he left the game, we were still tied.

Javier Lopez came into the game in the bottom of the 7th in relief of Madison Bumgarner. Lopez still kept his rep. looking scoreless. Not allowing a single hit. He earned the win tonight, because obviously Sanchez got the no-decision.  

Lopez deserves so much more credit than he's getting, plus, fun fact, we have matching necklaces.

Our pitching staff held it down for us, allowing Juan Uribe to hit a go-ahead two-out homer in the 8th to put us on top.

 In the top of the 8th, the Giants were 6-outs away from the World Series. In the bottom of the 8th, Tim Lincecum comes as relief. He strikes out Werth.x We were 5 outs away. Lincecum found himself stuck in a situation with two men on, and just one-out. In such a close game, Bruce Bochy called upon Wilson to end the inning.

Wilson stepped out there, in all his bearded glory...

and gets Ruiz on a double play to end the inning.

Three outs away.

With 3-outs away, you know what happens. The moment Wilson saluted to the boo-ing, silent crowd I don't even KNOW how I felt. There were NO words for it.

The moment the guys jumped into each others arms screaming and jumping like five year olds, I wasn't even thinking about anything else.

They showed the guys celebrating in the clubhouse, and I looked around for my boy Cody. He wasn't there. Turns out he was standing accepting the NLCS MVP honors, all 5 foot 10 inches of him standing tall and grinning like the Cheshire cat. Actually his grin beats out the Cheshire cat.

Just when I thought I couldn't be happier, I found out that Cody's nickname is *smiles.*

I knew I saw something in him day 1...

Or I really didn't.

Sometimes things just work out funny like that.

Me = hella proud.

nor-cal speak. I love it.

I still love him as much as I did when he was Giant day 1. I think he even had some hair then.

BRIAN WILSON:

I want to be your best friend.
even if cody's already my best friend, i'll have 2 besties.

Giants in the World Series since 2002.

A chance to win it all.

Today, tomorrow, Monday we celebrate.

Tuesday, we stress a little.

I won't believe it until I see it Wednesday.

Best strike-out ever witnessed.

let's hope that the world-series can top this moment.

BABY.

THE GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES, AND

TORTURE NEVER FELT THIS GOOD.

Painful (NLCS Game 5)

I thought we got off to a great start.

For the past several games in this series, its been like this: the team that got on the board first, won the game. There was a lot of back and forth, but that team always managed to win.

Today the Giants got on the board in the first and scored on a fielder's choice (crappy Conrad like fielding from Utley) and Posey got the RBI. At one point we were up 1-0, but we just couldn't hang on.

Today's game was very...MESSY.

Errors, and off line catches. Fouls that were called fair and slow reactions cost us Game 5 to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Roy Halladay attempted to bunt, his bunt ended up behind the plate, or on the plate, which is normally ruled foul. Instead it was called fair, and the throw to third to Sandoval to attempt to keep Ibanez (who unfortunately today produced) from stealing third, but he didn't manage to get his foot on the bag in time for the out. Halladay, thank goodness, reacted slow, thus he wasn't able to make it to first one time.

In the hellish third inning for the Giants, the Phillies were able to score two more with some balls hit nicely into the outfield, out of reach for Burrell, Torres, and Cody. At the end of the third, the Giants were down by two. Being early in the game, no one was having a panic attack quite yet.

We were able to kind of rally in the next inning. Cody Ross doubling in Burrell who had doubled before him. On a pop fly by Sandoval, Ross thought he could make it to third, so he broke for third, aaaannndd he didn't make it -- ending the inning. Cody had a rough night tonight, striking out mulitiple times -- swinging...I know his wrist hurts, but he can obviously still double. I hope that monstrous bruise on his wrist gets better by the time the Giants are in Philli.

The panic attack came when we just couldn't get men on base home.

We left them stranded there more than once. We had plenty of opportunities, and they just vanished.

Tim Lincecum didn't have the game of his life, but he did O.K, the change up looking better than I remember it. Like they said though, the velocity slowly decreasing...

Javier Lopez made an appearance tonight; good as always.

Sergio Romo also came out...though he was gone after he somehow injured himself tripping and trying to run to first base. Man down.

We wasted the 8th to come back, and in the 9th, Werth hit a solo-shot over the right field wall off of Ramierez, and the score was 4-2.

Damn you Werth.

Anyway, after a quick ninth, and Lidge striking out pinch hitter Ishikawa swinging, the Giants scrambled out of that dugout as quick as the possibly could and the crowd was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The Giants are off the Phillie -- again.

Is it just me, or does it feel like we're mirroring the Rangers vs. Yankees series?

The fact that we were so close just made that loss just so much more painful.

I'm going to now go two days trying my best to hate Roy Oswalt (hate the enemy). On a weirdly different note, I've decided that I want Dan Uggla to be a Giant, it fits.

Our team looked tired today, worn out; ready to take a nap.

Seriously, Cody Ross and Pat Burrell both looked like they could have fallen asleep right there on the grass. Huff was swaying on first base, and Freddy could maybe fall asleep standing up. Posey was maybe sleeping behind the mask; dozed off a few times.

well, no more of that, WAKE UP GUYS.

Get some sleep on that 4 hour plane ride over to Philli.

On Saturday, Jonathan Sanchez will take the mound against Roy Oswalt.

Despite Oswalts stunning (see! there go the compliments!) home record, the Giants have proven that what happens in the regular season means nothing in the post-season.

Sanchez has proven to be our pressure pitcher.

Put the champagne glasses down, breh.

We ain't done yet.

JUST. ONE. MORE.

sound familiar?

Yeah.

Let's go out there and play like we mean it.

How the Giants Roll (aka NLCS Game 3)

Hey Phillies, you're on our turf now.

Home of the Golden Gate Bridge, and notoriously difficult to walk up hills (even more annoying to drive up, ah the tires!) Foggy mornings, days, and afternoons, sporadic weather, and chilly Pacific winds, nope, San Francisco never disappoints. 

After coming home off rather painful loss in Philadelphia, the San Francisco Giants were quick to bounce back. After an earlier flip-flop in the pitching rotation by manager Bruce Bochy the Giants put starter Matt Cain on the mound. I've decided that the Giants just have a problem with Game 2 no matter who we put on the mound. But that's beside the point. Matt Cain shook off his last start (which he quite honestly did fine in, we just didn't win) and took to the mound again today for round 2.

I wonder how he fits all that hair under the cap...

Matt Cain was looking good...pitching wise.

He dominated, allowing two hits, issuing just two walks and striking out five. He featured a wide array or pitches today and went for 7 innings before handing the ball to our bullpen. Cole Hamels pitched today for Philadelphia. The lefty went for 6 innings, allowed one walk, 5 hits and 3 runs. He also struck out 8 in the process. San Francisco claims to have the best bullpen in all of the majors -- but in the post season, the bullpen has been slightly inconsistent. Today however, they got the job done, no messes to clean up. Javier Lopez came in the 7th to relieve Cain, the lefty specialist also took on a righty today, and managed to keep his post season record perfect.

Brian Wilson (what an awesome guy) earned the save. His second against the Phillies. He allowed on hit to Rollins and struck out Werth swinging. We ended the game on a high note, as Ibanez (who is 0-10 in this series) ground into a double play.

It's annoying that since today's game was in the middle of the day, I could have bought tickets from a secondhand source for a reasonably cheap price. However, since it's a day game, I'm also stuck withering away in French, Anatomy and Math class while shouting the scores across the room to friends.

"TWO AND OH TO BURRELL!"

One can see how that could not work out well, or better yet, in French. "TROIS ET DEUX A HUFF!"

Sigh, two more years, just two more years. Only, who knows where I'll end up in two years...

I feel like I'm going to hear about the importance of education tonight...

Oh well.

Last night the Rangers shut out the Yankees in a 8-0 win lead by the seemingly unstoppable Cliff Lee.

Today's batting line up was all twisted and weird and mutated, not that it didn't work out for us. My first thought was that it would mess up our team chemistry going on, but I guess not. We led off today with Edgar Renteria who was at short, then Freddy Sanchez at second in his usual spot. Instead of Huff, Posey followed, obviously behind the plate for the day. Burrell started in left, batting 4th. Then came Cody Ross (cheers loudly) who was in right, but later moved to left. Aubrey Huff followed Ross, then it was Uribe starting at third today. I guess his wrist was better. Aaron Rowand started in centerfield today and took on the 8th spot in the batting line up.

I guess it wasn't weirdly mutated, just different.

Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, Edgar Renteria, and of course Cody Ross all produced. We somehow found a way to get men from base home without any big blasts. The Phillies got through the line up once without a hit. Edgar Renteria in the lead off spot was the one to break up the no-hitter, singling to spark a rally of sorts. Freddy succesfully bunted, sending Renteria to second. Posey got out (the details are vague because we were setting up an experiment while all this was happening). Burrell took the walk, and with two outs Cody Ross came up to bat.

Continuing to add to his impressive post-season record, Cody earned himself another RBI by singling and sending Burrell to third and Renteria home. Still with two outs, Aubrey Huff singled in Pat Burrell to make the score 2-0. Matt Cain was able to hang on to that after having to dig out of a few stressful situations. No bases loaded situations though. We were able to keep their offense quiet today. Silent actually, shutting out our second team this post-season. Our third run came after a double by former Phillie, Aaron Rowand. In another 2-out situation, Freddy Sanchez was able to knock him in, making the score 3-0 Giants.

Looks like the one run game streak has ended, but it's very possible that it could come back.

2 down, 2 to go.

Phillies in San Francisco Day 2.

Let's Go.

Pictures

These were on my friends camera, they're from the Giants vs. Brewers and the Padres vs. Giants.

goodtimes.

NLCS Game 2

It goes without saying that that game could have gone better.

Much better.

The Giants didn't put up a fight (except for the Cody Ross home run, thanks, Cody), and basically earned ourselves a loss despite Jonathan Sanchez's efforts.

The Phillies really did do everything they could to win that game, and the Giants did nothing but help them. We managed to not catch a pop up in the middle of the infield. Really, it went straight up in front of the pitchers mound. Sanchez stood there motionless, Fontenot, Huff and Posey all came in for it. I think maybe Posey was trying to avoid that collision incident like the one that happened in the NLDS game 2 with Pablo Sandoval. Huff looked at Fontenot who was going for the ball before doubting himself and looking at both Huff and Posey who had paused midway. Jonathan Sanchez observed the entire situation without ever shouting for anyone to get it. No one called the ball, and it ended up falling a few feet away from Fontenot -- there was no play. Our team may be close, but we're not telepathic.

Then there was the almost error by Edgar Renteria who caught a ball, and watched it pop out of his glove before he finally smothered it while shaking his head. Still managed to smother it though, so could have been worse.

Andres Torres struck out 4 times and we got a grand total of four hits. In the second inning, Oswalt walked Cody Ross, and in the process attempted to take his head off. Ross walked up to the plate with the crowd booing -- loudly. Oswalt threw this pitch that Ross had to elaborately dodge so it wouldn't decapitate him, and the crowd cheered.

Hm...accidental?

Of course, he got back at Oswalt during his next at bat by swinging at a pinch inside and sending it into the stands for a home run. Our only run of that game.

Freddy Sanchez got two hits, and Travis Ishikawa got one pinch hitting. That was all though, our offense was flat out dead.

The Giants have a great bullpen to brag about; arguably the best in all of the majors, but they didn't get the chance to prove that last night. We saw something like 5+ pitchers come in and out of the game, none of whom were able to minimize the damage. Not Casilla, not Rameriez, no one.

There was no fight.

Baseball has taught me to be optomistic. More specifically, the Red Sox have taught me to be optomistic. We have a lot of games to go, and hey, we're coming home. We just need to stay one step ahead of them. Get on the board first, and fight for it.

Giants are coming home.

Actually, they're likely already home.

and I'll be watching the game tomorrow on my phone during class.

It's not over yet, it's far from over.

Being home, the Giants better be pumped with energy and ready to fight.

I plan on sending the Phillies home LOSERS.

Let's make it happen.

Giants take NLCS Game 1

Well, the much anticipated duel between Lincecum and Halladay has come to an end, the freak walking out of Game 1 with the win.

That duel might be over, but the series is far from over.

Breifly, tomorrow Jonathan Sanchez will take on Roy Oswalt. Originally, it would have been Matt Cain, but Bruce Bochy did the flip-flop early on, slating Sanchez to pitch Game 2.

We've won game one, the Rangers have tied their series with the Yankees in an impressive 7-2 win today. People are already looking way ahead, will we see Benji Molina? Let's not even go there yet.

We're taking this ONE GAME A TIME.

Game 1 like all the other play-off games the Giants have played, was determined by just one run. Tim Lincecum out pitching Roy Halladay in the end, walking away with 8 strike-outs. Brian Wilson (after torturing Giants fans) strutted away with the save.

The Phillies got close several times, too close for comfort, but the Giants managed to stay one step ahead of them.

The first thing to take notice of is the size of Citizens Bank Park. It's SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than AT&T, a hitters ballpark indeed. Before the Giants came into the NLCS game 1, we knew that our offense had to step it up. I don't know how many of our guys took this seriously, but Cody Ross did.

Cody Ross was coming off heroics in Atlanta, Georgia against the Braves. In Atlanta, he became public-enemy #1, In Philidelphia, he was booed at his last at-bat.

Cody Ross continued to display his heroics in Philidelphia by hitting back to back home runs off of ace Roy Halladay.

He's finding pitches he likes, and it's good. The Giants, not surprisingly, left a number of men on base. However, the Phillies did the same, leaving our pitching staff to clean things up.

Ruiz returned Cody's first homer with a solo shot of his own, tying the game.

Cody Ross, unsatisfied I guess, hit a second homer at his second at bat. He was "on base" a total of 3/4 times tonight, the last time, on a walk which loaded the bases, but we left it that way.

The Giants did have some success getting men home tonight. Uribe and Burrell both earned RBI's. Burrell, the Bay Area native and former Phillie got some revenge today by singling in Posey who had singled, and Uribe singling in Burrell who had doubled. The runs earned there turned out to be key in addition to Ross' two runs.

They were more than just cushion as it turned out Werth hit a two run shot to make the game a one run game. In the end however, after Wilson pitched something like a million and two pitches outside, he struck out two after giving up a single to end the game.

The best part is that the look on Ross' face after he hit both those home runs.
basically, priceless.

Always excited, always with that grin, I love it.

Wilson came in after Lopez in the 8th. Lopez ("the lefty specialist") struck out both of the lefties, and set the stage for our star-closer.

Wilson struck out the last Phillie swinging, after an intense, intense at bat.

But like the Wilson all of us here in San Francisco know, he's not out there to play games, he's out there to get the job done.

There's all this criticism on the Giants' 1-run game style, but that's just the way we do it.

I mean, obviously they weren't able to come back from that one run defecit, so no matter how we won it, we still won it. Having that one run is just enough for us to walk away with a win, and in the end, does it matter how we did it?

Not a Highly Paid Cheerleader

So I might be biased, but

Barry Zito is NOT a highly-paid cheerleader. 

He's a highly paid "daddy" of the pitching rotation.

...and occasional (apparently) long term relief pitcher...

The only person who can be angry at Zito right now is Zito,

and maybe the guy who makes out his pay check.

stop complaining because the Giants are in the NLCS.

I'm sure he knows he messed up.

He'll bounce back, just watch.

Give the guy a fricken break.

"Adopt" a Rookie

My friend and I, we have this tradition of adopting an up and coming player every year.

No, I don't mean guys like Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey,

we look into the minors, pick a player who we feel has potential, and keep an eye on them.

This year's baseball rookie, is sort of, kind of a rookie. He's had his first major league hit for the Giants which was against Arizona.

His name is Conor Gillaspie.

He caught my eye for the first time in 2009, playing with the San Jose Single A minor league south of the Bay Area. He looked like a good player, fielded well, and had a strong arm. As much as I'd love to say I look just at the stats and numbers, but I got a lot by gut feeling too.

He's got the opposite of Cody Ross batting/gloving going on.

He bats left, and throws right.

It just hits me sometimes, I look at a guy, and I think, "Dude. He's gonna make it big."

I got that gut-feeling when it comes down to Conor Gillaspie.

My friend doesn't think potential is enough. She says, "potential to succeed means there's also potential to fail." But I don't even go there.

It's kind of a fun tradition. Single A to Double AA, etc, etc. Means a lot when they actually go out there and prove their potential. Then you can say to everyone, "I TOLD YOU SO!"

Plus, doesn't that smile just look charming? :]

My hockey rookie of the year is definitely fresh, but he's probably already got a fanbase going for him.

At the age of like 18 (I can't really do math in my head, so I could very likely be wrong), he hails from Canada and plays for the Boston Bruins.

His name is Tyler Seguin.

He's my favorite because he's #19.

Just kidding. But #19 is a favorite number because it means you share with Boston's Josh Beckett.

He's not a big shot yet,

but maybe he will be.

That's the fun of it,

we'll just have to wait and see.

Riding High on The "I Told You So" Wave.

I woke up this morning, lightweight grouchy because I had a math test AND I got a 'C' on my most recent economics test and had to do a crap load of test corrections, but then, I went to get the paper, and of course, I flipped to the sporting green first, and this is what I saw.

Pretty great way to start the day off. Except for I hate clowns.

I'm LEGIT scared of clowns. Especially rodeo clowns because I swear this one time, this crazy clown was trying to steal my horse in Arizona. Think he got way too close at one point when my back was turned, but he musta spooked Draco (the horse, yes he's named after Draco Malfoy), and the horse freaked, the clown ran and I never saw him again.

Anyway, story time over.

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE:

How does one even associate the words, "Average Joe," with the San Francisco Bay Area?

You're around here long enough, you're barely an average Joe, and our baseball team is most definitely not a bunch of "Joes."

Just to name a few un-average guys:

You've got Brain Wilson with his shoes, and the hair, and the beard.

Timmy's lengthy hair.

Buster Posey's incredibly decorative, and elaborate catching mask.

Romo's beard.

Really, the beards in general.

Aubrey Huff's transformer tattoos.

Barry Zito, being the awesomely-quirky Barry Zito he is...

I like the whole, "fear the beard" thing or what not.

I mean, quite honestly, who cares how they look so long as they play well?

I don't.

 The beards didn't get us to the NLCS.

This is our team,

We gotta lot of personality,

so lay-off 'em.

If you ain't gonna embrace it,

don't criticize it.

NLDS Game 4

Nothing I write here will do this game justice; nothing anybody writes will do the whole series justice. The Braves and the Giants played 4 games throughout this NLDS series, all one run games that had EVERYONE on the edge of their seats. Not for a moment was anything for certain. Things changed in split seconds -- if you blinked, you'd miss some crucial turning point in the game.

The series was flawed with errors on both sides. The hitting was minimal, the pitching phenomenal.

The series has come to an end, but there's so much to say about it.

Game 4 was the most intense game I'd ever sat through.

The Braves' Derek Lowe came in on 3-days rest and got through the Giants order no sweat. The Giants were hitless against Lowe until the 6th. The only base-runner had been Andres Torres who had gotten on base via an error by shortstop Gonzalez, but he was caught stealing second shortly after.

The Giants sent out rookie pitcher Madiosn Bumgarner. The North Carolina native is just 21 years old, and he just turned 21 too. If his birthday had been any later he wouldn't have been able to celebrate with the guys in the clubhouse legally. Despite his young age, he pitched beautifully for about 6-innings with the help of Buster Posey behind the plate. I think that Posey is partly responsible for the success we've had with our pitching rotation and our unstoppable bullpen. Bumgarner limited the Braves' damage to just one run. Like I said though, things change instantly.

After my thousands of rants on Cody Ross, I can't help but to feel like I have the right to say, I told you so. 

Cody Ross, lucky #13 would be the one to break up Lowe's no-hitter with a home run over the wall.

After his first at-bat, Edgar Renteria told him, "Cody, get your foot down." Maybe that did it for him.

But the Braves, who were trying not only to stay alive for one more day, but also win one for their retiring manager Bobby Cox returned the aggressiveness.

Braves' catcher, Brian McCann sent a home run ball almost a mirror image to Ross' home run to put the Braves on top again.

The Braves were going to put up a fight, and the Giants did the same. In the top of the 7th, we loaded the bases. Aubrey Huff drew a walk and Buster Posey singled --  Pat Burrell also drew a walk, and Bobby Cox came out to take the ball from an exhausted looking Derek Lowe. Peter Moylan came out to face Juan Uribe with one out and the bases loaded -- a pressure situation indeed.

Uribe got to first on an error by Gonzalez, his second of the game. Huff came home to tie the game and everyone was safe. Moylan sat down and Venters came up to try and keep the score at 2-2. Aaron Rowand came out for a pinch hit to replace Mike Fontenot who had a few stumbles himself in this game. Rowand struck out swinging, but nobody was breathing easy. Not Giants fans who ddesperately wanted a lead in the 7th and not Braves fans who knew that there was still 1-out to go, and as they'd learned from yesterdays game, a lot can happen even if there's just one out to go.

Cody Ross came up to bat.

Cody singles in Buster Posey, earning his 2nd RBI of the game, 3rd of the series (because obviously the error yesterday didn't count), and putting the Giants ahead by 1.

The inning ended there, Burrell got thrown out at home, but Bochy turned to our bullpen to hang on to that 1-run lead. Our bullpen must have shaken off whatever jitters they were having before this, because they came out there and took care of business.

The game was suspenseful up until the very last out. The Braves ended up stranding two men on. The throw that ended the game, and Bobby Cox's career could have been disastrous for the Giants. Juan Uribe gloved Melky Cabrera's grounder perfectly fine, but the throw to first was VERY high. Travis Ishikawa who'd come in to play first handled it neatly, jumping up to catch the ball, but in time to get his foot back on the bag for an out, thus ending the ball game. Brian Wilson earned his second post-season save.

The Giants gathered to celebrate, but not before the crowd chanted for Bobby Cox to come out. When the Giants paused to clap and cheer for him, Cox waved back. The crowd stood and cheered for the former Braves manager who had watched his team play for the last time.

They didn't play in front of a full crowd, and they didn't win the game, but Bobby's got a lot to be proud of. Cox stepped out today, for the last time in his #6 uniform, a legend leaving the field for good.

The Giants players only had good things to say about him. Bobby Cox will be missed, his presence will be irreplaceable. He leaves behind a void that will likely never be filled, but also a team that will carry on his legacy.

The moment ended when Cox disappeared back into the clubhouse, and the Giants returned to celebrating. Cody Ross was whisked away to do press conferences, and joined the celebrations a little bit later.

Everybody keeps saying that he was an unlikely hero, but to me, I saw it coming. It's the whole 'gut feeling' thing again, I guess. I'd been talking about him the moment we got him off waivers, the day he hit a single for San Francisco in his first at-bat as a Giant; or when he was running for his life to first base against the Dodgers.  He might be an unlikely hero to everyone else, but to me, he was just waiting for the right moment.

"'Gimme some! Gimme some!' Ross shouted as he entered the scrum of players celebrating in the visitors' clubhouse at Turner Field. Oh, they gave him some, all right. Enough adult beverages to get a fraternity through a weekend immediately poured all over the outfielder's shaven head. 'Can't breathe! Can't breathe!' he said laughing as he ran out of the sudsy shower he'd so gleefully requested and received." - MLB.com

I'm pretty sure I've already said this,

but Cody, I love you, breh. 

"You know, the past is the past. I'm glad I'm where I'm at now, and I'm happy to be here and I'm just enjoying the ride."

- #13 Cody Ross

And what a ride it's been.

Sure, enjoyable in times like these, but being a fan all season long, there were some moments of heartbreak no doubt. That's the thing about baseball though, it'll break your heart, but it always makes it up to you somehow.

"'I watched the whole throw, every millisecond of it, watched Ishikawa's foot, saw the umpire call him out and then -- pandemonium,' Wilson said. 'It was, 'Where am I? Who's going to hit me? Do we even do that right now? I don't care. I'm going to jump around.'"

-Brian Wilson
(yahoo news)

I think I had my eyes closed during that last play too, but after that it was reason to celebrate. Fans have roughly 2 days to jump around, celebrate, eat cake, pie, parrrttyyy in the middle of the damn week...and then we can settle back into our stress mood again.

"I don't know how you can be a fan of this team all year, it's a grind...we don't do it easy."

- #17 Aubrey Huff.

(ESPN)

In response, I'd have to say, it hasn't been easy all year long, but moments like these go a long away. I love this team, and truthfully, in the beginning of this season, I saw the team as a whole bunch of guys who played as individuals. We didn't really come together as a team just yet. It took some time, and some new guys and suddenly we were playing play-off quality. Getting to watch the team come together has been amazing, and this baseball season is going to be UNFORGETTABLE.

This series will be unforgettable.

No, the Giants don't do it easy, but 'easy' isn't necessarily what we want to see. They put our faith to the ultimate test.

But in moments like these, in the thrill of the win, the thrill of your favorite outfielder whom you pleaded to be in the starting line up (pleaded to no one influential of course), is the HERO...that's when it's all worth it.

It's worth it when you see all the guys jumping around in the clubhouse like little kids.

It's worth it when you're hugging random strangers in Giants jerseys.

It's worth it when you've lost your voice cheering.  

It's all worth it when your team pulls through an amazing win.

No, easy isn't what we want.

Forget all the bandwagon fans -- they're just experiencing the torture. Those of us who've followed the Giants forever, we've already gotten used to it. 

And all that torture just makes every unforgettable win, like this one that makes it just that much better.

Giants --

Let's go round 2.